Printing roll with printing plate securing means



ys, 1970 R. c. CQNOLE 3,509,819

PRINTING ROLL WITH PRINTING PLATE SECURING MEANS Filed April 5, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet l iii? Z4 \m mw s g INVENTOR. RICHARD C. CONOLE.

PRINTING ROLL WITH PRINTING PLATE SECURING MEANS Filed April 5, 1967 R. C. CONOLE May 5, 1970 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. RICHARD C. CONOLE. BY

United States Patent US. Cl. 101378 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Equipment for printing data processing cards to provide a bleed line adjacent each end of each card severed from a Web of printed card forming material. The equipment includes a printing roll having a bleed line printing element carried thereby and located in a predetermined and fixed position with respect to a shaft that is synchronized with respect to a web cutting device. The bleed line printing element serves to print a line transversely of the web of card forming material at the point thereon where said web will be severed by the web cutting device to produce the cards. The printing roll further is provided with means for removably securing a printing plate in a fixed position, thereon so that both the printed data and the bleed lines will be accurately positioned with respect to each card produced.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of invention The invention is directed to equipment for producing data processing cards from a web of printed material wherein bleed lines and other matter printed on the cards are accurately located with respect to the cards and the web will be severed along each bleed line to leave a part of the bleed line on each end of each card produced.

Description of the prior art It has been common practice heretofore to: print data on a web of material which is passed to a cutting device for severing the printed web into individual data processing cards. It is necessary to maintain a very very high degree of accuracy in producing such cards, both with respect to the length of the cards and the positioning of the printed matter thereon. It is therefore usual to print a transversely extending bleed line on the web from which the cards are to be severed in order that one half of such line will appear at each end of each card to indicate whether the necessary degree of accuracy and registration of the printed material with respect to the card has been maintained.

The printing rolls heretofore used for this purpose have presented an outer cast or etched printing face with a bleed line thereon and the printing roll has been lined up on its drive shaft in a position which is so adjusted with respect to the Web cutting means as to assure severing of the web along the bleed line. For this purpose a split gear or other adjusting means is generally provided and the accuracy of adjustment of the printing roll is determined by running oif a few test cards and thereafter adjusting the split gear or other means to compensate for any misalignment of the bleed line on the test cards produced.

The operations required to effect such adjustments .are time consuming and the material used in running ofi the numerous test cards produced before a final and satisfactory adjustment of the printing roller and the cutting device is attained, result in considerable 3,509,819 Patented May 5, 1970 down time and expense. Moreover the etched or cast printing rolls are expensive to produce so that it is not economically practical to print a limited number of cards containing different data or printed material to meet the requirements of many different customers or users of such cards.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with the present invention the printing roll employed embodies a magnetic body or chuck having a central bore therein provided with a keyway for locating the chuck in a predetermined accurate position on its drive shaft. The chuck and web cutting means can then be driven by a common or coordinated driving connection so that they will at all times be synchronized in their operation Without any need for time consuming adjustment thereof.

The outer surface of the magnetic body or chuck is provided with plate positioning means such as a rib, key or projections which extend longitudinally of the chuck and is located in a fixed and predetermined position with respect to the inner keyway of the chuck and the shaft on which it is mounted. Therefore the plate positioning means and the bleed line printing elements also will at all times be located in a predetermined and coordinated position with respect to the web cutting means.

The key, rib or other plate positioning means on the chuck cooperate with a flange on one end of the chuck to engage and accurately position a removable printing plate on the chuck whereby flexible printing plates embodying a layer of ferro-magnetic material may be easily and interchangeably secured to the printing roll. Moreover the key or rib on the outer surface of the chuck may have a printing element thereon which serves to print a bleed line on the web of card forming material. Since the position of the inner keyway and outer plate positioning means are fixedly related with respect to the Web cutting device through the common or coordinated driving connections, the bleed lines will always be properly located on the web of material being printed so as to assure the presence of a part of the bleed line at each end of each card severed from a web printed by the printing roll.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURE 1 is a diagrammatic illustration of a typical form of equipment adapted for producing data processing cards in accordance with the present invention.

FIGURE 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of a typical printing roll embodied in the equipment shown in FIG. 1.

FIGURE 3 is a view partly in section and partly in elevation illustrating the printing roll and printing plate of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a perspective illustrating an alternative form of printing roll and printing plate embodying the present invention; and

FIG, 5 illustrates a typical data processing card which may be produced by the equipment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT In that form of the invention illustrated in FIG. 1 a web 2 of card forming material is passed from a supply roll 4 between a printing roll 6 and a press roll 8 to a web severing device 10. The device 10 serves to sever the printed web 2 transversely along bleed lines 12 printed on the web 2 by a bleed line printing element 14 mounted on printing roll 6. The printing roll 6 and the web cutting de- 3 vice 10 are coordinated in operation so that each card 16 cut from the web 2 will have portions 12a and 12b of the printed bleed line 12 located adjacent the opposite ends thereof as shown in FIG. 5

The coordination of the printing roll 6 and the web cutting device 10 can be effected in various ways, but as shown in FIGURES l, 2 and 3 the printing roll 6 has a body 18 provided with a central bore 20 for receiving a drive shaft 22. The bore 20 and drive shaft 22 may be tapered if desired, but in any event, an inner keyway 24- is formed in the body 18 of the printing roll and faces the bore 20 therein. A complementary keyway 26 is formed in the drive shaft 22 to receive a key 28 which projects into the keyway 24 of the printing roll to hold the printing roll 6 in a fixed and predetermined position with respect to the drive shaft 22.

The web cutting device 10 is similarly provided with a drive shaft 30 to which a cutting element 32 is secured by a key 34 or other means which will serve to. maintain the cutting device in a predetermined position with respect to cutter drive shaft 30. The drive shaft 22 on which the printing roll is fixed and the drive shaft 30 of the Web cutting device 10 are driven at the same speed or are otherwise coordinated in their operation to maintain a fixed relation therebetween which will assure accurate registration of the bleed line 12 printed by the roll 6 on the web 2 with the cutting element 32 of the web cutting device 10. Such coordinated movement or rotation of the printing roll 6 and cutter 10 can be established for example, by means of gears 34 or the like driven by a common drive shaft 36.

In order to establish and maintain accurate registration of the bleed line printing element 14 on the printing roll 6 with respect to cutting element 32 of the web cutting device 10, the body 18 of the printing roll 6 is provided with an outer keyway 38 which extends longitudinally of the printing roll on the outer surface of the body 18. A printing plate 40 is mounted on the body 18 of the printing roll and is held in a fixed and predetermined position with respect to the body of the printing roll by a key 42 located in the keyway 38 of the body. The printing plate 40 presents an outer printing surface having raised printing elements 44 thereon for engaging the web 2 to print data or other matter on the web as it passes between the printing roll 6 and press roll 8.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 the body 18 of the printing roll 6 has a central tubular core 46 through which the bore 20 extends and in which the inner keyway 24 is formed. A plurality of alternately arranged annular magnetic rings 48 and nonmagnetic spacers 50 are mounted on the core 46 to form a magnetic chuck or body for receiving and holding the printing plate in a predetermined and fixed position on the body 18 of the printing roll 6. The printing plate 40 is provided with at least an inner metal layer 52 of ferro-magnetic material adapted to be attracted to and held in place on the body 18 of the roll by the magnetic elements 48. The printing elements 44 on the printing plate 40 are preferably formed on the outer surface of a layer of material '54 bonded to the metal layer 52 and formed of resinous, plastic, or polymeric material having suitable wearing properties. Both the metal layer 52 and the plastic layer '54 of the printing plate 40 are preferably somewhat yieldable or resilient whereby the printing plate can be made in the form of a longitudinally split cylinder adapted to be spread and slipped over the end of the body 18 of the printing roll and then released so that it will tend to spring back into embracing engagement with the body 18 whereupon the magnetic elements 48 of the body will securely hold the printing plate in place on the printing roll.

A preferred product adapted for use in forming the printing plate 40 is the laminated metal and plastic material produced by E. I. du Pont de Nemours and sold under its trademork Dycril. The plastic surface of this material is adapted to be subjected to a photographic and etching process similar to photolithographing whereby it is possible to produce inexpensive printing plates having any desired data, information or printing elements formed thereon.

In order to assure accurate positioning of the printing plate 40 on the body 18 of the printing roll 6, the printing plate 40 is first made rectangular in form and has a length equal to the circumference of the body of the printing roll less the width of the key 42 located in the outer keyway 38 of the body 18 of the printing roll. The opposite ends 58 of the printing plate 40 will then seat firmly against the opposite sides of the key 42 when the printing plate is given a cylindrical shape and applied to the body 18 of the printing roll.

The printing roll further is provided with a radially extending annular flange 60 located at one end of the roller. The side 62 of the rectangular printing plate (which forms one end of the cylindrically shaped plate 40) may then be seated against the flange 60 while the opposite ends 58 of the plate engage the opposite sides of the key 42. In this way the printing plate 40 may be located on the body 18 of the printing roll 6 with the utmost accuracy without'skewing or improper positioning of the plate. At the same time the plate is held securely in place by the magnetic elements 48 of the body. On the other hand, when it is desired to replace the printing plate, or to substitute a different plate having different data or printing elements thereon, it is only necessary to raise one end of the plate 40 so as to establish an air gap between the magnetic elements 48 and the ferro-rnagnetic layer 52 of the plate, whereupon the plate can be readily removed from the body 18 of the printing roll and another similar plate can be substituted therefor. The new printing plate, in the form of a split cylinder can be slipped over the end of the chuck into a position wherein the ends 58 of the plate engage the sides of the key 42 and the side of the plate engages the end flange 60. In this Way each plate can be quickly and accurately applied to the chuck Whereby a minimum amount of time is lost in changing the plates and it is not necessary to waste material in running off test cards to assure the proper positioning of the bleed lines on the cards.

While the bleed lines to be printed on the web 2 prior to severing the web into individual cards, can be provided on the printing plate 40, it is preferable in accordance with the present invention to locate the printing elements for printing the bleed lines on the key 42 located in the keyway 38. In this Way any possible misalignment due to errors or displacement of the bleed line in producing the printing plate 40 can be eliminated. The location of the bleed line printing element is instead positively and fixedly established by the keyways formed on the body 18 of the printing roll and the keys by which the printing roll is secured to its drive shaft and coordinated with the operation of the web cutting device 10. Thus the key 42 maybe provided with printing elements which project outward from the outer face 68 of the key into circumferential alignment with the printing elements :44 on the printing plate 40. In this way it is possible to assure the printing of the bleed lines 12 in the most accurate locations on the web 2, no matter what the nature of the data or other information printed on the web by the printing plates 40 may be. Furthermore, it is possible to provide alternative keys 42 with different printing elements 70 thereon so as to locate the bleed lines 12 in any positions transversely of the cards produced as may be desired by any particular customer. Thus either one long bleed line, or a plurality of bleed lines, can be printed on the ends of each card and these lines can be positioned or spaced so that ditferently printed cards can be identified when stacked together by mere inspection of the ends of the cards appearing in any stack.

It is also possible, if desired, to locate various printing elements, other than, or in addition to, bleed lines on the keys 42 employed for positioning the printing plates on the body of the printing roll. Thus, for example, the key 42 may be provided with additional printing elements 70 so that it will not only serve to print the bleed lines in predetermined positions on the web, but may also print the name of a company, the code number or identification of the cards being printed, or other information desired by any particular customer or for any particular use of the cards being printed.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 4, instead of providing a removable and replaceable key in predetermined position with respect to the inner keyway in the body of the roll, it is possible to provide fixed plate positioning means such as the longitudinally extending radially projecting rib 80 formed integral with the body or magnetic elements of the chuck so as to be located in a fixed position with respect to an inner keyway '82 in the body 84 of the roll. The rib 80 is of height substantially equal to the thickness of the metal backing layer 86 of the printing plate 88, plus the thickness of the inner or base portion 90 of the outer plastic layer 92 of the plate. Thus, the printing faces of the etched or molded type 94 will project outward beyond the outer surface 96 of the rib 80. However, printing elements 98 may be formed on the outer surface 96 of the rib and located at selected points thereon to print the bleed lines 12 on the web of card forming material 2 along transverse lines corresponding to the lines along which the web is to be secured to form the bleed line portions 12a and 1212 at opposite ends of each card produced from the printed web.

As a further alternative, and as additionally shown in FIG. 4, the plate positioning rib 80 may be interrupted at some points throughout the length thereof. Accordingly, instead of being in the form of a continuous rib, the printing plate positioning means may include or be in the form of a series of outwardly projecting pins 100 which can be formed integral with the magnetic rings 102 employed in forming the body 84 of the printing roll. Selected and properly located pins 104 may then project outward beyond the plate positioning pins 103 to serve as printing elements to print the bleed lines 12 on the web 2 as the data is being printed thereon by the printing elements 98. The rib 80 or the row of pins 100 extend longitudinally of the printing roll at right angles to a flange 106 on one end of the printing roll so that the rib or pins engage and position the ends of the printing plate while the flange 106 engages the side of the plate.

The application and removal and the accurate positioning of the printing plates is thereby facilitated.

Many variations and changes in the material printed on data processing cards, can be made without danger of displacement or misalignment of the bleed lines on the cards. It will also be apparent that the printing plates may be secured to the body of the printing roll by means other than the magnetic elements described and illustrated in the drawings. Similarly it is possible to empoly the present invention with printing plates of various types other than the laminated or Dycril construction referred to alone.

I claim:

1. The combination of a printing roll and a printing plate for use in printing data processing cards comprising a printing roll having a bore extending axially thereof for receiving a drive shaft, a key way facing inwardly toward said bore for securing the printing roll to a drive shaft in a predetermined position thereon, a second key way located on the exterior of the printing roll and located in a predetermined position with respect to said inwardly facing key way, a flange projecting radially from the outer surface of the printing roll adjacent one end thereof, a key located in said second key way and having one end thereof in abutting contact with said flange, said key projecting radially beyond the outer surface of the printing roll and having a printing element thereon, and a rectangular printing plate having a length equal to the circumference of the outer surface of the printing roll less the width of said key, said printing plate having printing indicia thereon and being shaped into the form of a split cylinder adapted to be slipped over the end of the printing roll, the printing indicia on the printing plate being accurately held in a predetermined position with respect to the printing roll and with respect to the printing element on said key by reason of the positive engagement of an end of the key with said flange, the positive engagement of the opposite ends of said printing plate in abutting relation with the opposite side of said key, and the positive engagement of one circumferentially extending longitudinal edge of printing plate in abutting relation with said flange.

2. A printing roll as defined in claim 1 wherein said key has printing elements thereon for printing bleed lines adjacent the opposite ends of data processing cards.

3. A printing roll as defined in claim 1 wherein the body of said roll embodies magnetic elements and said printing plate embodies an inner layer of flexible ferromagnetic material and an outer layer formed of flexible plastic material having printing elements projecting therefrom.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 762,665 6/ 1904 Stine 101-375 769,022 8/1904 Rosin 101-375 1,130,199 3/1915 Rowley et al 101-377 1,531,492 3 1925 Marquardt. 2,108,822 2/1938 Lippincott 101-37 8 2,774,302 12/ 6 Stromme. 2,952,205 9/ 1960 Dunwoodie. 3,039,389 6/ 1962. Meese et al. 3,097,598 7/1963 Hotop et al.

329,369 10/ 1885 Cummings 101-384 569,096 10/ 1896 Etly 101-377 1,259,976 3/ 1918 Goss 101-426 X 3,126,825 3/ 1964 Tofano 101-415 3,195,458 7/1965 Nystrand 101-415 FOREIGN PATENTS 186,648 11/1955 Austria. 962,023 4/ 1957 Germany.

ROBERT E. PULFREY, Primary Examiner I. REED FISHER, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 101-226 

